Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did Thomas Becket flee England in 1164?

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St. Thomas Becket Murder of St. Thomas Becket, illustration from an English psalter, c. 1200; in the British Library.

Thomas Becket fled England in 1164 primarily due to an escalating conflict with King Henry II over the rights and privileges of the Roman Catholic Church.1

The tension was fueled by the Constitutions of Clarendon, a set of 16 articles issued by the king in January 1164 designed to restrict ecclesiastical power and subject "criminous clerks" to secular punishment. Although Becket initially promised to observe these articles, he soon repudiated his oath.12

The situation reached a breaking point at the Council of Northampton in October 1164, where the king summoned Becket to trial on charges of feudal obligation. It became clear that Henry II intended to ruin and imprison him or force his resignation. To escape this threat, Becket fled the country in disguise, beginning a six-year exile during which he sought refuge with Louis VII of France.3